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Tag: Poland

Exchange of Experts in Polen- Teamwork at its best

Wenn über 100 motivierte Waldbrandexperten von Heute und Morgen aus sieben Nationen in Polen zusammenkommen, um bei vollem Einsatz drei Tage lang, bei einem Exchange of Experts (EoE) verschiedene Waldbrandbekämpfungs-Taktiken zu üben, dann auch noch entgegen der Vorhersage das Wetter mitspielt, ist das Wochenende perfekt gelaufen!

Zwischen dem 20-22 Mai fand in Gołąbki (Staatswald Toruń) das erste International Forest Camp in Polen statt. Ziel des Workshops war es Techniken und Taktiken zur Bekämpfung von Waldbränden zu trainieren. Zunächst in verschiedenen Trainingsstationen am Freitag. An den beiden folgenden Tagen wurden unter Anleitung von internationalen Waldbrandexperten verschiedene Aspekte von Waldbrand- Szenarien nachgestellt und die Teams aus ganz Europa mussten das gelernte Wissen anwenden. Dabei konnten die Experten direktes Feedback geben und die Teams dadurch (wenn nötig) Ihre geplante Strategie anpassen.

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Poland: #stayhome & in touch with wild nature

by Anna Żornaczuk-Łuba and Izabela Czyżyk

Do you want to see wild animals without leaving home? The Polish State Forests makes it possible.

Article 3 of the Polish Nature Conservation Act states that nature protection goals are achieved, among others, through conducting educational, information and promotional activities in the field of nature conservation. Therefore, the Polish State Forests is initiating digital activities to promote knowledge about rare species of Polish and European fauna. 

A first online transmission of a bird’s nest started in 2012, as an effect of the cooperation between the State Forests and the NGO Eagle Protection Committee (Komitet Ochrony Orłów). The white-tailed sea-eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) nest, that could be observed by internet users, was watched by up to 80,000 viewers per day.  

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Helping journalists report on complex science

On 11-12 July 2019, nine journalists from six media teams visited the Białowieża Forest to attend the ‘Sound Co-Lab Reporting’ – a workshop introducing audio storytelling techniques to report on forest-related issues. The workshop was part of the Lookout Station which aims to bridge the gap between science and media and bring innovation to newsrooms. The event was organized in collaboration with EUFORGEN to bring forest genetics onto the map of interconnected issues needed to decipher today’s complex problems.

Białowieża Forest, a UNESCO-protected site on the border between Poland and Belarus, is known worldwide for its high conservation value and for a history of controversy over conservation and forest management.

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Polish-German exchange on wildfire prevention

Written by Michael Herrmann, ForestFireWatch and Alexander Held

„One firefighter within the first 15 minutes is worth more in the forest than 100 firefighters after an hour” – motto of Polish forest fire protection services, emphasizing the importance of initial attack

From 6-7 June 2019, Polish forest officers from the State Forests organization, firefighter and representatives of the Forest Research Institute met with members of the German volunteer organization “ForestFireWatch” for an exchange of knowledge and experience in Rzepin (Forest District), Poland. Main objective of the meeting was the exchange of experience in the field of wildfire prevention.

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Bark beetle outbreaks and the future of European forests

Discussing solutions and searching for more resilience forests

How are different European countries dealing with bark beetle outbreaks and which role do questions like sanitary cutting, monitoring systems, forest ownership, windstorms and expectations towards nature conservation play? What are the challenges regarding climate change? How do the social perception of active and inactive forest management impact forester’s activities in local forests? Which tools should be used to cope with natural disturbances and how we can educate foresters, policy makers, and other relevant stakeholders? Following the invitation of the Polish Ministry of Environment and the Polish State Forests, we discussed these and more issues in the Białowieża Forest during a working seminar of the European Network INTEGRATE from 25-27 June 2018.

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"A complex universe of meanings" – anthropological perspectives on the forest

The forest is much more than what is visible on the surface. Thinking about the resilience of future forests one has to remember that for contemporary societies a forest is ‘a complex universe of meanings’. The role of woodlands expands beyond their environmental functions and touches such crucial issues like identity. Trees, forests and green spaces contribute to a sense of belonging, create bounds with place and develop feelings of attachment to a space. The history of forests is always entangled with a history of people who live upon them: foresters, local residents, visitors from cities, ‘ordinary people’. In many countries forests play a significant role in the national culture. There is a conviction about the joint spirit and history manifested in trees and national nature cared for by previous generations. It is believed that the past of a society can be traced in the textures of the land. As a result, trees are not just supposed to grow, but very often they should teach us how and what to remember.
My essay “Trees that must remember” tells a story of the relation between the memory and trees on the example of Polish forests. From my anthropological point of view I am demonstrating how in the contemporary society cultivating nature can at the same time become managing a memory. Based on examples from local forests my essay describes how the forest itself is turned into the synonym for the fatherland and national heritage. In present-day states, natural spaces, including forests, are places where the national myth is played out.

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